From Baguette Vending Machines to Multi-Sensory Coffee Dispensers

In Japan, creative vending machines are commonplace. Perhaps it's because of the country's historic interest in robotics, but it often seems as though the Japanese have a machine to sell consumers almost anything. Though creative vending machines are less common in Europe and North America, some retailers have caught on to the Japanese technique.

In some cases, creative vending machines are answers to practical problems. Considering that breakfast is the meal people most often skip, the breakfast vending machine from Quaker or the multi-sensory coffee dispenser from Costa Coffee make perfect sense. However, some vending machines are purely built for their weirdness, like the "pizza ATM" built at Cincinnati's Xavier University (although it's still probably appealing for late night college eating.)